ALAS

I give it to the band that they do make a credible effort in re-doing and somewhat rearranging what ELP were famous for in their early years.

The Hammond delivers notes that we've all heard before, albeit it comes across as if these passages were drawn randomly from a hat. Good effort nevertheless, but hardly anything new on top of what Keith Emerson has already released.

The bass player deserves special mention as he delivers convincing lines, true to Greg Lake's approach and he dares to take it even further. Full marks to this guy!

The same couldn't be said about the drummer, who can play brilliantly at times, but fails to observe Carl Palmer's innovative technique as a guide.

Still, the music is very pleasing as a sort of ELP tribute - until we get to the vocals. Directionless noodlings, almost devoid of any melody conjuring images of a man bending over in self-pity, his nose almost reaching his knees. Now, I don't speak the language and there could be some serious poetry in the words, hidden to me. But musically these moments tend to detract from the overall enjoyment of the notes played.

I detect very little connection with Jazz-Rock, Canterbury influences here, suggested by some. Maybe on future releases that I am not familiar with?

The music is generally pleasing, but much of it I've heard before. The bits that I haven't are largely forgettable - with the exception of the bass.

It would qualify for 3.5, but a 4 it isn't.

The debut album was too far out for my tastes - this is much more to my liking. Progressive, yet accessible and elegant - while sounding aggressive at the same time.

Boy am I glad I stumbled upon this one. I hesitate to call it a masterpiece, because it's not really treading any new ground. However, in my eyes, it is one of the best pieces of progressive rock I've heard from the 1980's, and it will be in my rotation forever. 4.5 stars.

3(+), but this was clear since first seconds of first track. It's good that they're treating us with original sounds, but sometimes, it's too much and they're pushing limits too far. Sometimes I think that four minus would be more fair.

"Buenos Aires Solo Es Piedra" is led by drums, bass and keyboards early and the drumming is great. A sudden calm before 3 minutes then soft Spanish vocals join in. An almost dead silence 6 minutes in as faint sounds come and go. It's building then the earlier melody returns after 8 minutes. It settles again as these contrasts continue. Not much flow here.Trumpet before 11 1/2 minutes. Keyboards and drums lead 14 minutes in to the end.

"La Muerte Conto El Dinero" opens with vocals and a pastoral soundscape. Vocals stop then the tempo picks up after 1 1/2 minutes. It kicks in before 3 minutes with vocals then it stops and starts for a while before staying uptempo. This is good. It stops before 9 1/2 minutes then reserved vocals come in followed by a mellow sound. Birds are chirping but it doesn't sound real. Flute joins in, then the wind starts blowing. A drum solo before 15 minutes takes over, then they all kick in for the last 2 minutes.

Good album for sure but it doesn't capture my Prog heart.

The first track is called Buenos Aires solo es piedra and as soon as it starts there can be heard some Chick Corea infuence in Alas' music. After this fast introduction , really calm vocals appear over an almost unhearable layer of Rhodes piano , pretty much like RTF first record (specially the track Crystal silence). This section also reminds me of some of the jazziest Canterbury acts like National Health , Gilgamesh or Hatfield's first album. Right after this part finishes we can hear Moretto's moog reminding me of ELP but without being bombastic at all. At 11:30 minutes there comes a little part with some trumpet by Moretto and some percussion by Carlos Riganti ( bells and maracas to be more specific). The song keeps on changing moode sometimes reworking on some of the themes that already were developed.

La muerte conto el dinero opens with vocals in the same mood as the previous song. Then it develops into a ELP ish section up to the fourth minute , the interplay between the musicians is top notch. some parts are remiscent of the Baba Yaga section on Pictures of an Exhibition. At 9:30 minutes Moretto sings again a brief part and some bird whistle like becomes prominent above a really spacey section. After this , a brief drum solo starts , this section is a little inconsistent for my tastes. Luckily this soon fades away and we face another fast section before the song comes to an end.

Aire is the first of the two bonus tracks and while is not long it's quite interesting.Basically , it sounds like The Rotters club meets Trilogy .Includes layers of keyboards , some pretty fast drumming and cheery vocals. The last song is Rincon , mi viejo Rincon and it's the worst of the bunch. Really a depressing tune and it's ending it's somewhat ankward.

Overall , this album is really interesting for those looking for a band with incredible musicianship. It may please the fans of the bands named above as well. I wouldn's say it's essential , but definitely worth checking out.

This is a true jazz rock fusion album and a treat to the ears.

The music is jazzy with keyboards echoing Keith Emerson.....

Portions of this album you think you are listening to ELP....and sometimes it reminds you of the Canterbury Scene.....maybe Hatfield & the North??

If you are looking for something new and different.....I would highly recommend Alas....

The first two songs were originally sidelong compositions from their first self titled album and go through a multitude of tempo and thematic passages ranging from tight and sophisticated group performance in prog overdrive to spacey and experimental sections with some great build - ups. As good as this sounds, the last five songs from the bands second original album release 'Pinta Tu Aldea'(1978) are even better, primarily because of the addition of new bassist Pedro Aznar who turns in some electrifying virtuosic performances combined with the already heady performance of keyboardists Gustavo Moretto on everything from acoustic and electric piano, various organs, moog, mellotron, and other synthesizers and keyboards. I suppose I should mention that the percussion is certainly up to these standards also; and their is the unusual but colorful addition of some tasty flute, trumpet and acoustic guitar on several cuts.

The overall performances are exceptional blending tight and sophisticated progressive composition with some joyous yet technically impressive improvisation. This is a mostly instrumental cd with a few light and smoothly flowing vocal sections in Spanish. It is hard to believe a keyboard trio which maintains such a high caliber of excellent material seems to be hardly recognized within the prog fan community. I have to wonder how many more South American gems have yet to be discovered.

Well i don´t know why i hadn´t reviewed this album before, since i had already written my review for their first album and their compillation one, actually i was pretty sure that i had done it before, but now that i visited this album´s page noticed that i was wrong, so it´s time to do it.

This is another one exquisite band from Argentina which released only 2 albums, the first one being released in 1976 as a eponymous album and featuring 3 members ala ELP, the musical orientation of that album was more bombastic very reminiscent to ELP indeed, and with the fusion touch ala Return to Forever, that was a great debut album, but later the former bass/guitar player Alex Zucker left the band, he was replaced by a very talented musician, Pedro Aznar. So they worked and made compositions and in 1978 released what later would be their last album, "Pinta tu Aldea" which fortunately was another great album, but with a different style, this time the bombastic ELP-is music disappeared and instead, they focused in giving a very traditional style, Tango, and imagine the combination of a magnific jazz/fusion album with the exquisite and unique sound of Tango, it makes this album very peculiar and great.

A pleasant 40-minute listening will be found here, featuring 4 great songs with 10 minutes average each one, just another proof that prog in Argentina was really amazing in the 70s, so please have a listen to these kind of bands, not only from Argentina but from South-America, there are really a lot of gems.

Pinta tu Aldea kicks off with a magnific track called "A Quienes Si No" which has 10 very worth listening minutes with a fantastic intro which leads to the keyboard playing in a Focus or ELP style in a moderate way, then it turns into their fusion style making a fantastic harmony between the musicians, great keyboard playing above all. "Pinta tu Aldea" the title track is the first one which shows the different and original style featuring that Argentinian Tango sound,, what a perfect combination between Jazz and Tango, here the bass playing is magnific as well as the bandoneon (instrument used for Tango purposes) and with a unique sound, there is a passage on this song when it is slow and with a classical touch, then it returns again to the tango-fusion style, great song!

"La Casa del Mosquito" is the shortest song, and it has another extra instrument which is the flute, this time appearing since the very beginning of the song with a delicate sound accompanied by a soft piano, then the song becomes a bit faster and powerful where we can hear a magnific acoustic guitar here and there, the flute still sounding and the song is probably the jazziest of them all, a proof of the different directiopn of the album is clearly listenable here. "Silencio de Aguas Profundas" is the one which finishes this great album, this song again features both the flute and the bandoneon, probaly this is the most ambitious of them all where they tried to show that the could do anything they wanted to, not my favorite song of the album but still good, it feels like if i were in a restaurant having a nice meal and listening to a soft jazz- tango song.

Different from their first effort, but again good and worth listening, 4 stars , recommendable to anyone.